Active oil management reaches key stage in development process

The company said it is in conversations with seven global vehicle manufacturers, who value the system’s contribution to emissions reduction, hybrid packaging improvement, service simplification and whole-life environmental sustainability.

"The technology has been further developed at Nexcel’s research centre with testing conducted by specialists including Penso, DuPont and Millbrook,” said Brian Fitzsimons, Nexcel’s Technical Director. “We now have a modular technology using standard components that will allow Nexcel to be easily scaled for a wide range of vehicle programmes and automotive production.”

The core design components between the dock and the cell have been standardised, but the cell body design is intended to be adapted for the requirements of each vehicle design.

The oil connections are self-aligning to ensure a high pressure seal is achieved, and the electrical connections between cell and dock are now wireless. The number of electronic components has been reduced and where possible concentrated in the dock, so they remain part of the vehicle rather than the cell.

“The testing programme has paid attention to in-service durability, looking at extreme usage conditions to ensure the reliability of each component can match the expectations set by our customers,” said Fitzsimons.

Thorough testing has been carried out in association with DuPont, including mould optimisation to ensure consistent quality levels in volume production. Materials and electronics have undergone virtual testing by Penso including structural analysis performance, and vehicle testing in extreme temperature conditions at Millbrook, including thermal fatigue cycling from -30 up to +150°C, object impact and lifetime structural testing, while equivalent on-road testing has been conducted on a range of special surfaces.

The test programme ensures that cell reliability meets Nexcel’s expectations: return, refurbishment and re-use ten times before then being end-of-life recycled. Nexcel experts have focused on cell, dock and pipework weight reduction without affecting durability, with an empty cell now weighing as little as 1.4 kg and a planned route to achieve 1kg.

Ben Russell, Nexcel’s Business Development Director said: “The basic systems and designs are now proven and we have an in-house team ready to support the adoption of Nexcel by manufacturers of a variety of mass-market light-duty vehicles. This is a big step towards being able to integrate Nexcel with a production vehicle development programme.”